AS CHARTER SUPPLY DWINDLES, DEMAND FOR CHARTER SCHOOL SEATS CONTINUES TO SOAR

AS CHARTER SUPPLY DWINDLES, DEMAND FOR CHARTER SCHOOL SEATS CONTINUES TO SOAR 

Nearly 48,000 Kids on Charter School Waitlists
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Record Number of Applicants – 26% – Identify as English Language Learners

New York – Parent demand for public charter schools in New York City remains red hot even as the number of new schools allowed to open reaches its state-imposed limit. This year, 73,000 students applied to at least one New York City charter school through the common online application, according to a report from the New York City Charter School Center, a seven percent increase over last year. Only 25,200 seats were open for the 2017-18 school year, leaving more than half of applicants—approximately 48,000 children—on a waitlist. In all, more than 288,000 applications were submitted, which means families applied to multiple schools in the hopes of getting a coveted seat.

This year’s record high demand comes as the City approaches the maximum number of charter schools allowed under state law. With only 30 additional charter schools left to open, state lawmakers are under increasing pressure to raise the cap before they go on recess in June.  At the current pace of authorizing, New York City will run out of new charters in the coming year.

“Our charter sector simply can’t keep up with the demand from families, even with more than 20,000 available seats this year,” saidJames Merriman, CEO of the New York City Charter School Center. “As demand for charter seats continues to significantly outpace supply, it’s time for Albany to eliminate the arbitrary charter school cap and make public charters more accessible to the families who desperately want them.”

Demand High in Key Neighborhoods

More than half of all applicants came from New York City’s lowest income areas, including the South Bronx, Harlem, and Central Brooklyn; in these neighborhoods, there were three applicants for each available seat. Four children applied for every charter seat available in the Bronx and Queens. Three children applied for each seat open in Manhattan, while two applied for each open seat across Brooklyn and Staten Island.

Applications continue to outnumber available seats in all five boroughs.

Common Online Charter School Application

There were nearly 290,000 total applications submitted to charter schools this year (up from 270,000, an increase of 6.5%), of which nearly 50% came through the Charter Center’s Common Online Charter School Application tool. Notably, charter schools continue to attract families of children with high needs. Over 26% of Common Online Charter School applicants reported being an English Language Learner, compared to 25% for the 2015-16 school year. Fourteen percent of this year’s applicants reported being a student with special needs.

You can read the full report here.